STEPPIN' OUT: REMEMBERING AL SHEA will premiere on WYES Friday, August 28 at 6:30 p.m. It will be rebroadcast Wednesday, September 2 at 8:30 p.m.

Shea, who died Thursday, August 20, 2009 at age 81, appeared on STEPPIN' OUT for all of its 23 seasons, making his final appearance on the June 26 episode taped before the show's annual summer hiatus.

"Al was such an important part of our show, and of the theatre and television community in New Orleans, that we felt it was only natural to pay tribute to him with a special edition of 'Steppin' Out," said Beth Utterback, the station’s director of broadcasting.

Appearing alongside host Peggy Scott Laborde during the special 30-minute tribute and sharing their memories will be Shea's longtime friends and WDSU-TV colleagues Bob and Jan Carr, and retired Times-Picayune theatre critic David Cuthbert.

Shea's long career in New Orleans included more than 30 years at WDSU-TV, where he was best known as an entertainment critic and celebrity interviewer. He also wrote extensively for several local publications, including Gambit Weekly and New Orleans Magazine, before joining "Steppin' Out" in 1986.

The tribute program will feature clips from programs compiled for the 2003 WYES documentary "New Orleans TV: The Golden Age," produced by Dominic Massa, as well as still photographs and video from Shea's extensive personal collection.

Click here to read Al Shea's obituary written by The Times-Picayune's John Pope.